The machines peeling in the presence of water generally have a structure such as is disclosed in the French patent No. 2,558,690 of Jan. 24, 1984. These machines comprise a tank into which discharges a sprinkler nozzle and which is lined with an abrasive material; a rotary disk sets the produce in rotation and makes the produce impact the abrasive wall of the tank, whereby material is removed. In some machines, the abrasive lining of the cylindrical wall is replaced by stiff bristle brushes.
However the effectiveness of such machines is mediocre, in particular when shelling nuts. Accordingly processing time is long (several tens of minutes), and shell pieces often remain attached to the produce, generally requiring another pass. Moreover such machines gradually load up with wastes and must be frequently rinsed lest the effectiveness drop further. Also these machines use significant quantities of water and therefore discharge large amounts of effluents. It should also be noted that these machines tend give rise to water jets, such that the tank must be closed at the top, and loading the produce is made more laborious.
The present invention proposes to provide an improved machine that peels by paring in the presence of water.
An essential object of the invention is to provide a machine with an efficiency substantially higher than that of the known machines.
Another object is to provide a machine less susceptible to clogging.
Another object is to reduce substantially the water consumption.
Another object is to provide a machine of which the upper side may remain open to facilitate loading the produce.
(Hereafter, the expressions relating to spatial positioning such as "high", "low" . . . shall refer to the normal operating position of the machine.)